Many of us bite our nails. Even celebrities do it.
According to researchers in Quebec, what may be seen as a nervous tic might be what perfectionists do when they're bored.
They studied 48 people during four different sessions created to cause stress, frustration, boredom or relaxation in the participants. Half of the participants suffered from some sort of body-focused repetitive behavior like nail biting, picking at split ends or skin.
Researchers said the participants who engaged in repetitive behaviors were more likely to do so when they were frustrated, bored or stressed, as opposed to when they were relaxed.
In a news release, the lead researcher said this led his team to believe that such tics might be signs of a perfectionist: "They are therefore prone to frustration, impatience and dissatisfaction when they do not reach their goals. They also experience greater levels of boredom."
The discovery falls aligns with what is already known about perfectionism. According to a stress management expert on About.com, perfectionists are high achievers who get frustrated or beat themselves up when their goals aren't met.
It doesn't mean that nail biting is good for you, though.
The Mayo Clinic reports that the habit can harm your teeth as well as cause germs to spread from your fingers to your mouth, increasing your chances of developing a cold or other infections.
But there's hope for those who engage in repetitive behaviors.
A writer for Bustle says the study "indicates that we might have learned these were societally acceptable reactions to certain feelings and developed small addictions to them."
The researchers concluded in their study, which was published in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, that nail biters and hair pullers would benefit from finding ways to reduce their perfectionist tendencies.
This video contains images from Getty Images, CileSuns92 / CC BY ND 2.0, kiwinky / CC BY NC ND 2.0 and Freddie Pena / CC BY NC 2.0.
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